El Enemigo Común

Countrywide Day of Action in Solidarity with Oaxaca

On June 8, anti-authoritarians and human rights activists are trying to break the paramilitary blockade of the autonomous municipality of San Juan Copala in Oaxaca. We need to support them to help avoid another massacre.

In 2006, Oaxaca was the site of one of the most inspiring, important social rebellions of the decade. Between the brutal crackdown of the Mexican state and the constant harassment by paramilitaries, dozens of people have been killed and the rebellion was largely crushed, but parts of Oaxaca are still organizing their autonomy.

For five months, the Triqui village of San Juan Copala has faced severe paramilitary repression for declaring itself autonomous from the Mexican state and the neocolonial capitalist policies it enforces.

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Minnesotans urge the Mexican consulate to investigate ongoing paramilitary violence in Oaxaca San Juan Copala, Mexico after the assassination of indigenous leader, wife.

May 21st, St Paul, MN — A group of Minnesota activists delivered a letter to the Mexican consulate in the wake of yesterday’s assassination of community leader Alejandro Ramirez and his wife Cleriberta Castro in their home in San Juan Copala.

“We are here to condemn continued paramilitary attacks on women, children, and movement leaders in Oaxaca San Juan Copala, Mexico,” shouted one protester. “We demand an immediate investigation into these calculated murders and campaign of intimidation by the Mexican government!”

Activists hung a banner over I-35 on Monday, and urged friends and family to call into the consulate all week leading up to today’s protest.

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by frowner – twin cities indymedia

“The indigenous, autonomous community of San Juan Copala has been in a desperate situation for a while now,” writes a Minneapolis activist working in Oaxaca. “They have been surviving persistent paramilitary attacks and are close to death as the paramilitaries have cut them off from food and water supplies. The solidarity caravan had intended to support them and try to bring attention to the attacks, but the government is so hell-bent on destroying this community that there was no hesitation to send paramilitaries to murder the participants. These were assassinations, not random shootings.”

“This will continue to happen in communities like San Juan Copala that are resisting, there is knowledge that there are more attacks planned of higher severity. The need for international solidarity is so desperate as it is so important to bring attention and acknowledgement to what is going on down here.”

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TO THE STATE, NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
TO THE OTHER CAMPAIGN
TO THE NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS ORGANIZATIONS
TO THE PEOPLE OF MEXICO

Comrades of the media, we have called you together at the request of the Autonomous Municipality of San Juan Copala. As the bearers of the voice of our people, we want all the people of Mexico to hear directly from us what happened on the 27th of last month and what continues to happen in our community.

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by Scott Campbell

At the demonstration at the Mexican Consulate in solidarity with San Juan Copala and to demand justice for Bety Cariño and Jyri Jaakkola on Friday, the Deputy Consul Ismael Naveja came out to speak with some of us briefly and proposed we bring a statement with specific demands and concerns that he will communicate to officials in Mexico.

After consulting and soliciting input from individuals and organizations in Oaxaca who were involved with the solidarity caravan, Kevin Caplicki and I produced the below statement and delivered it to Deputy Consul Naveja on Tuesday afternoon.  While we certainly are not expecting it alone to spur the Mexican government into action, it is one tactic that can be widely employed to demonstrate solidarity with the caravan members and the autonomous municipality of San Juan Copala.

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